I've been looking at all of the wood burning stoves and I really like the reviews and ease of use of the bushbuddy. I don't do any winter hiking so I should be able to find plenty of wood. My main concern about the Bushbuddy (besides the price, ouch) is something that would seem to happen on all wood burners: turning pots black. Does this happen? Does it ruin the pot or does it not really matter? Can it be cleaned off?

Also, I think I've measured correctly and it appears it will fit inside my GSI Outdoors Halulite Microdualist but I'm not sure this pot will be secure sitting on top; it seems a bit narrow. Any experience with this pot or something similar?

I think I've read about all the options, but is there anything else that is small and as compact as the Vargo Hexagon? I thought this would be a great alternative to the Bushbuddy, especially with some added holes near the base, but it seems to have bad reviews and falls apart after only a few hikes.

Soot is likely to get onto any pot that you are using if you are running with something that is not "clean burning" like alcohol or gas/canister.

I have the Bushbuddy and I also use a Caldera Cone with Esbit- both leave the pot dirty, but does not damage them and it is easy to clean.

To clean, Spray on Oven Cleaner works great on my MSR Ti Kettle.

Spray it on and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes and rinse off with water.

Even if you have to use a little elbow grease, it should not ruin anything...unless you consider some scrub marks on your pot ruining it.

I would highly recommend that you carry a small plastic bag that is not too thin that it tears easily.

Put your Cook pot inside the plastic bag so that when you store the soot covered cook pot in your backpack, it does not get the rest of your gear soot covered.

The Bushbuddy is great....who does not love fire. Plus, you can have tons of hot water for anything you want. Sponge bath, hot water to wipe down before bed, etc. What is not to love about not having to be stingy on fuel if you are in a wooded area?

Hi Josh, As you, I was a little concerned about the price, but believe me it's really worth it. It's a nice piece ! True, soot is an issue, but it's not that bad. I keep my pot (msr titan kettle) in a stuff sack with the BB inside (in a small bag too). Clean your pot as often as you can with dirt or sand... It's much more fun to use than an alcohol stove! Even in winter, it's a great stove.

Jean I agree the Bushburner seems to be worth the investment. The only thing I'm really worried about with the soot is getting it on my fingers when setting up and taking down. I don't want to get soot on everything else after it inevitably gets on my hands and fingers!

I just came across the Emberlit and I don't know why I haven't seen this mentioned more. This stove seems to be exactly what I'm looking for but still causes the same soot problems which I'm thinking I'l just have to get over. Its price point is better for me since I'm new to ultralight and wood burning stoves in general. Ultimately I would like this stove to replace my canister setup all together for both overnighters and week long trips.

Costco sells Nitrile Exam gloves in different sizes. I wear them when I pump gasoline at the gas station to keep the stink off my hands. They would work fine for keeping the soot off your hands. To take them off I pull the glove up off the backside of my hand and blow air into the glove. It expands like a balloon and comes right off.

I also use these same gloves in cold weather over my glove liners when snow camping. They definitely help my hands stay warmer.

I'd get the Firefly over the Ember lit. I have them both, and QiWiz's port option matches the Emberlit port feed at a lighter weight. Otherwise the regular Firefly uses the same top feed as the BushBuddy, again a bit lighter in weight.

Stephen I hadn't seen the firefly yet. It appears there are more wood burning options than I thought, including collapsible ones as I would prefer. I don't see the option for adding the feed port on the website. Am I looking at the right page?

RE: the soot issue. I just use a piece of aluminum foil wrapped completely around the pot up to the top and just throw it away when the trip is over. Pot stays nice and clean and the foil weight is negligable.

Take a close look at the Trail Designs Tri Ti and Sidewinder stoves with the Inferno option for woodburning.

The Inferno makes these stoves GASSIFIER stoves, thus highly efficient like the BushBuddy only lighter and more compact. Plus they burn other fuels (alcohol and ESBIT) so they are more flexable in usage.

Eric,What is the smallest pot that the sidewinder will fit inside? edited: nevermind, I found the list of compatible pots, although I dont know the dimensions all of of the pots though (without looking further)

Does that big hole in the front ever create a roguish flame out in front of the stove when burning wood? Obviously one would turn the handles away from that opening. Do you carry the stakes in the pot also? I have seen some videos where because of the "tight" fit of the cone, it sticks to the pot when it is picked up. Has this ever happened to you with the sidewinder? It looks to have a very large fire box that would make a big fire if filled up completely. Ill bet thats nice in winter.

Everyone does seem to love those but I think I'm sold on the emberlit, bushbuddy, and possibly firefly. The Tri and Sidewinders price is a bit too steep for me atm, not to mention I would need to buy a new pot. Although the bushbuddy is expensive as well it has considerably less setup and breakdown, and it seems my pot will fit. The ember lit has the same perks, for me, and is about a third of the price. I think I may end up buying this in the near future. The main reason for wanting to buy a wood stove is consistency in colder weather, especially at elevations near 10,000ft in the sierras, and money savings on expensive canisters. In about 10-12 hikes I could "pay for" the bushbuddy and about half that with the emberlit.

Good call on the foil btw, seems like the simplest solution that adds really no weight. Could even be used as a wind screen if it was windy outside.

If you're getting into woodburning stoves, you've got to just embrace the soot. It's part of the process. However, the bushbuddy is such a clean burning stove that while my pot is discolored, I don't find that I'm having to deal with a thick layer of soot that gets all over my hands and stuff. And because there is no complicated stove assembly or breakdown to deal with, hands have minimal contact with the interior of the stove.

Let us know how you like the Emberlit Josh. Packing flat is cool.So is the ability to use any pot you want. After years of testing and close to a thousand fires in woodstoves, I prefer a single walled stove. I wonder if one of my windscreens would fit on the Emberlit. (3/4oz)

Brent Driggers wrote: > Does that big hole in the front ever create a roguish flame out in front of the stove when burning wood? Obviously one would turn the handles away from that opening.

Yes it does, and yes you should.

Brent Driggers wrote: > Do you carry the stakes in the pot also?

Yes, at least I do in my Evernew 1300 pot. The nice thing about the 1300 is that I can put the cone(s) (inner and outer) inside as well as the stakes, grate, and wire roll as well as an alcohol stove and a bottle of fuel (or an ESBIT stove and some cubes).

Brent Driggers wrote: > I have seen some videos where because of the "tight" fit of the cone, it sticks to the pot when it is picked up. Has this ever happened to you with the sidewinder?

I've had it happen on my aluminum Caldera Cone with a smaller pot but not with a Ti-Tri Sidewinder for my 1300ml pot. There's a fair amount of stuff in there, and all that stuff keeps things fairly well anchored.

Brent Driggers wrote: > It looks to have a very large fire box that would make a big fire if filled up completely. Ill bet thats nice in winter.

It is a pretty nice fire box. There's enough volume that I can make tea first and then heat more water or cook afterwards. Here's an omelette I cooked after first making a big cup of tea (~500ml), all on one filling of wood.